32 spring breakers arrested at house party

Walton County Sheriff's deputies arrested 32 spring breakers Monday for underage drinking during a party held at this 3-story house at 110 Miami Street.

DEVON RAVINE / Daily News

By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE / Daily News

Published: Monday, March 11, 2013 at 09:42 PM.

MIRAMAR BEACH — Almost three dozen reveling spring breakers learned Monday afternoon they’d be going home with an unwanted souvenir: a misdemeanor arrest.

While they were partying at a house off Scenic Highway 98, Walton County sheriff’s deputies arrived and carted 32 of them off to jail for underage drinking, said Maj. A.J. Smith.

When deputies drove past the three-story vacation rental house at 110 Miami St. at about 5 p.m., they saw men and women who appeared underage hanging over the balconies, swimming in the pool and standing in the driveway drinking.

Smith said the place was “full of booze” and “completely trashed.”

The house was littered with empty beer cans, liquor bottles and funnels for chugging alcohol. Holes had been punched in the walls and it appeared some people had urinated on the floor.

The men and women were between the ages of 18 and 20 and on vacation for spring break. Smith said many of them appeared to be from Mississippi.

He said he hopes the arrests will send a message to other people visiting the area for spring break.

“There probably aren’t too many open house parties being busted up in other places right now, but we have a zero tolerance,” Smith said. “We want the spring breakers to come and enjoy the beach, but what they’re doing to these houses in some of these neighborhoods, we’re just not going to tolerate.”

Smith said the amount of alcohol in the home was egregious. At 7:30 p.m. deputies were still removing cases of beer that were stacked on the back porch.

“There’s so much alcohol that had already been consumed or is still here in the house, it’s just unbelievable,” he said.

When deputies arrived, many guests at the house tried to flee and some got away, but the 32 that were detained were all issued minor in possession of alcohol charges. They were loaded in a bus and hauled to jail in DeFuniak Springs, about 40 miles away.

The two underage men who had rented the home were also charged with having an open house party.

Smith said he believes that if deputies had issued notices to appear in court instead of taking the young people to jail they would have just continued drinking after they left.

By arresting them, deputies may have prevented something worse from happening, he said.

“We want to make sure the kids don’t hurt themselves or get hurt, and one way to do that is to make sure they’re not drinking too much,” he said.

Since 2011, the number of spring break visitors to South Walton County has soared, with a growing college-age crowd gathering in Miramar Beach.

The spring break crowd is a welcome sight for many businesses that rely on tourism, but this year some residents and business owners complained to county officials that the younger crowds are causing more trouble than it’s worth.

The Sheriff’s Office vowed to crack down on noise and underage drinking this year.

That effort is aimed not only at keeping the spring break visitors safe but also protecting the beaches, property and quality of life of the people who live in the area year-round, Smith said.

He said some of the spring breakers come to the beach and throw their garbage everywhere and make so much noise residents can’t sleep at night.

“We’d like to send the message, they can come and have a great time, but treat our home like it’s your home. Would you do this in your house? Well, then don’t do it in ours,” he said.

MIRAMAR BEACH — Almost three dozen reveling spring breakers learned Monday afternoon they’d be going home with an unwanted souvenir: a misdemeanor arrest.

While they were partying at a house off Scenic Highway 98, Walton County sheriff’s deputies arrived and carted 32 of them off to jail for underage drinking, said Maj. A.J. Smith.

When deputies drove past the three-story vacation rental house at 110 Miami St. at about 5 p.m., they saw men and women who appeared underage hanging over the balconies, swimming in the pool and standing in the driveway drinking.

Smith said the place was “full of booze” and “completely trashed.”

The house was littered with empty beer cans, liquor bottles and funnels for chugging alcohol. Holes had been punched in the walls and it appeared some people had urinated on the floor.

The men and women were between the ages of 18 and 20 and on vacation for spring break. Smith said many of them appeared to be from Mississippi.

He said he hopes the arrests will send a message to other people visiting the area for spring break.

“There probably aren’t too many open house parties being busted up in other places right now, but we have a zero tolerance,” Smith said. “We want the spring breakers to come and enjoy the beach, but what they’re doing to these houses in some of these neighborhoods, we’re just not going to tolerate.”

Smith said the amount of alcohol in the home was egregious. At 7:30 p.m. deputies were still removing cases of beer that were stacked on the back porch.

“There’s so much alcohol that had already been consumed or is still here in the house, it’s just unbelievable,” he said.

When deputies arrived, many guests at the house tried to flee and some got away, but the 32 that were detained were all issued minor in possession of alcohol charges. They were loaded in a bus and hauled to jail in DeFuniak Springs, about 40 miles away.

The two underage men who had rented the home were also charged with having an open house party.

Smith said he believes that if deputies had issued notices to appear in court instead of taking the young people to jail they would have just continued drinking after they left.

By arresting them, deputies may have prevented something worse from happening, he said.

“We want to make sure the kids don’t hurt themselves or get hurt, and one way to do that is to make sure they’re not drinking too much,” he said.

Since 2011, the number of spring break visitors to South Walton County has soared, with a growing college-age crowd gathering in Miramar Beach.

The spring break crowd is a welcome sight for many businesses that rely on tourism, but this year some residents and business owners complained to county officials that the younger crowds are causing more trouble than it’s worth.

The Sheriff’s Office vowed to crack down on noise and underage drinking this year.

That effort is aimed not only at keeping the spring break visitors safe but also protecting the beaches, property and quality of life of the people who live in the area year-round, Smith said.

He said some of the spring breakers come to the beach and throw their garbage everywhere and make so much noise residents can’t sleep at night.

“We’d like to send the message, they can come and have a great time, but treat our home like it’s your home. Would you do this in your house? Well, then don’t do it in ours,” he said.